Valve is Replacing the Majors Battle Pass With Dota Plus

The Dota team has unveiled Dota Plus, a new monthly subscription service described as an "evolution of the Battle Pass". There is a six percent and 12 percent discount if the subscription is purchased in bulk for six and 12 months respectively.

Valve's free-to-play MOBA Dota 2 now offers its players a $3.99 paid Dota Plus subscription for access to additional in-game features and utilities.

Majors Battle Passes, like this one from fall 2016, included daily and weekly challenges, new cosmetics and effects, and other themed features. And now players, as well the hero played, will be earning experience for each match played. Each character now gains XP and can level up across games, granting Reward Shards and responses for use with the new Hero Chat Wheel. There, we learned a ton about Artifact and Valve's game release strategy, including initial details about Artifact and its mechanics, why Valve hasn't released Half-Life 3, how Valve plans on shipping games again, and more. Players will be granted access to Plus-exclusive items that can be bought using shards and select legacy item sets for heroes.

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That is all standard fare of a subscription within a free to play game, but where things get unusual are with the addition of "Plus Assistant". The new system has sparked discussion, with some players feeling that the introduction of a paid subscription that will provide real-time aid to players is pay-to-win.

The Plus Assistant will also suggest which ability to select at each level. A post-game analytics screen will wrap everything up with a full-game performance comparison based on multiple metrics and a breakdown of damage dealt by and to each hero based on sources abilities, summoned units, and attacks. While non-subscribers will still be able to buy a ticket for $0.99 (Rs 64 approximately).

And while the scheduling is gone, some seasonal flavor will remain: Dota Plus subscribers will get "Seasonal Terrain" visual elements on the map that will be active during each season.

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